There’s spaghetti — the noodles and sauce you slap on the table on any given weeknight — and then there’s pasta, the dish you labor over for a special occasion or for company. Pasta is, indeed, a good “company” meal. It’s like fish: Once you learn how to cook it properly, you don’t have to be afraid of serving it to guests. Pasta recipes can be easily selected to accommodate vegetarians, require no special “presentation” skills and are generally popular. Serve pasta with a salad and bread, and you’re done with your menu planning. As a bonus, it’s usually inexpensive.

As to how to cook pasta, here are some tips garnered from reading cookbooks, talking to chefs and hanging out with as many Italian-born home cooks (including my parents, grandmothers and aunt) as I could. (These tips apply only to dried pasta. I am still learning how to cook the fresh stuff.)

— Use a really big pot and 1-1/2 quarts of water for each 1/4 pound of pasta.

— Salt the water generously. Salt helps the noodles hold their shape. If you are on a low-sodium diet, you can skip this step.

— Fill the pot with salted water, cover, let the water come to a full boil, add the pasta and cover again. The minute the water begins to boil again, remove the cover, stir the pasta and finish cooking it uncovered.

— While the pasta is cooking, stir it occasionally with a pasta “puller” (a spoonlike device with prongs) or tongs.

— Cook until al dente, which means, literally, “to the teeth.” In other words, the pasta should be tender but still have some substance when you bite into it.

— Drain the pasta in a colander and put the empty pot back on high heat for a minute. Turn off the heat and return the drained pasta to the pot, shaking it to evaporate any extra water. There is no need to rinse the pasta or add oil to it once it is drained.

The following “company” recipes come from the enticing new book “A Great American Cook” by Jonathan Waxman (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). To follow the recipes here, you need to know the terms “al dente” (see above) and “julienne” (a verb meaning “to cut into very thin strips”).

FETTUCCINE WITH CREMINI MUSHROOMS AND ONION MARMALADE

For the marmalade:

2 red onions

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup Pinot Noir

1/2 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley)

For the fettuccine:

2-1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms (baby portobello mushrooms)

4 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fino (dry) sherry

1-1/2 pounds dried fettuccine

Make the marmalade: Peel and slice the onions crosswise into thin slices. Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan set over medium-low heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until very soft and caramelized.

Add the wine, reduce heat to low and cook the onions, stirring often, for another 20 minutes, or until the wine has reduced to a slightly sticky glaze. Add the herbs and stir well. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.

Make the fettuccine: Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.

Submerge the mushrooms in a bowl of cold water, and let stand for a few minutes to remove any grit, then lift them out, drain on paper towels and pat dry. Trim and halve the mushrooms. Peel and mince the garlic. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly colored. Toss in the mushrooms, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook gently for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms have released a little liquid. Add the sherry, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. When the mushrooms are flavorful but still firm, turn off the heat.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the instructions on the package until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, reheat the marmalade. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the marmalade and toss well. Divide the pasta among the individual serving plates, and top with the mushroom mixture and a good sprinkling of black pepper. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 first-course or 4 main-course servings

Recipe from “A Great American Cook” by Jonathan Waxman (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)



ANGEL-HAIR PASTA WITH BEETS AND CREAM

2 medium beets

1 leek

2 stalks celery

2 medium carrots

1 medium celery root

1 red bell pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound dried angel-hair pasta

Trim the beets. Put them in a medium saucepan, add water to cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Drain the beets, reserving the cooking liquid. Let the beets cool, then peel them and julienne. Set aside.

While the beets are cooking, cut off the root end of the leek and the dark green parts, leaving about 6 inches of white and pale-green leek. Cut the leek in half lengthwise, and wash carefully under cold running water to remove any grit. Pat dry and slice into fine julienne strips. Unless the celery is very young, it will need to be peeled. Remove tough strings with a vegetable peeler or paring knife, then cut the celery into 2-inch julienne strips. Peel the carrot and julienne. Peel the celery root with a paring knife and julienne. Stem and seed the pepper, cut away the inner ribs and julienne.

Bring a small saucepan of water (no salt) to a boil. Add the leek strips and cook until just crisp-tender (err on the side of crisp), then lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat, one by one, with the celery, carrots, celery root and bell pepper, removing each from the water and draining when crisp-tender.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the blanched vegetables and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cream and bring just to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions until al dente.

Drain the pasta and toss it with the vegetables, adding the remaining tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons of the reserved beet cooking liquid, or more as needed if the pasta seems dry. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed, and serve.

Yield: 6 first-course or 8 main-course servings

Recipe from “A Great American Cook” by Jonathan Waxman (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

 

Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.